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Life Sciences
Results 61 - 80 of 393.
Innovation - Life Sciences - 13.05.2024

Better understanding of this natural formation process offers potential for technical developments A new interdisciplinary study led by molecular biologist Florian Raible from the Max Perutz Labs at the University of Vienna provides exciting insights into the bristles of the marine annelid worm Platynereis dumerilii.
Life Sciences - Chemistry - 08.05.2024
Brain organoid developed for research
The human brain is not only larger and contains more nerve cells than the control center of other species, it is also networked in a very special way: Thick bundles of nerves connect brain regions like highways over long distances, such as the left and right hemispheres of the brain. A team of researchers at IMBA, in cooperation with MedUni Vienna, has now presented the first organoid model in which these information "highways" can be studied.
Life Sciences - Health - 02.05.2024

New assistant professor at ISTA investigates how cells keep track of time The human body has adapted to Earth's day and night cycle.
Life Sciences - Environment - 30.04.2024

Adaptation of the photosynthetic mechanism in air plants (Tillandsia) occurs through gene duplication Researchers at the University of Vienna, along with collaborators from France, Germany, Switzerland and the USA, have achieved a major breakthrough in understanding how genetic drivers influence the evolution of a specific photosynthesis mechanism in Tillandsia (air plants).
Health - Life Sciences - 30.04.2024

Clonal haematopoiesis is a phenomenon caused by mutations in haematopoietic stem cells and can lead to blood cancer. We now know that it occurs also in people with normal blood counts, where it is associated with an increased risk of life-threatening atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. A research team at the Medical University of Vienna has now developed a genetic testing procedure to detect clonal haematopoiesis, which, when used in combination with an ultrasound examination of the carotid artery, allows to identify patients at high cardiovascular risk.
Environment - Life Sciences - 26.04.2024

A recent study in the journal Science takes the most comprehensive look yet at the past and future of global biodiversity: intensive land use reduced biodiversity by up to around 10 percent over the course of the 20th century. By 2050, the climate crisis could become the main factor, alongside land use, for further losses in biodiversity.
Health - Life Sciences - 24.04.2024

When pathogens invade the body, the immune system must react immediately and prevent or contain an infection. But how do our immune cells stay ready when there is no attacker in sight? Scientists from Vienna and Salzburg have come up with an intriguing explanation: They are stimulated by healthy tissue.
Life Sciences - Health - 24.04.2024

New unusual giant virus discovered in wastewater treatment plant near Vienna The single-celled organism Naegleria fowleri ranks among the deadliest human parasites. Researchers around Matthias Horn and Patrick Arthofer from the Center for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science at the University of Vienna, in an international collaboration, have discovered viruses that infect this harmful microbe.
Health - Life Sciences - 24.04.2024
Project NETTLE: An exciting look into the research lab
We visit Sabrina Vorderegger in the Biomedical Sciences research laboratory at SALK. Sabrina started as a researcher at the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences in February, she was hired specifically for the Interreg project NETTLE. The aim of the project is to obtain natural extracts from various alpine plant species with interesting biological activities that are typical of the Austrian-Italian border region.
Life Sciences - Environment - 17.04.2024

As desertification spreads worldwide, scientists discover how desert microbes endure harsh drought periods Prolonged droughts followed by sudden bursts of rainfall - how do desert soil bacteria manage to survive such harsh conditions? This long-debated question has now been answered by an ERC project led by microbiologist Dagmar Woebken from the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science (CeMESS) at the University of Vienna.
Health - Life Sciences - 17.04.2024

GABA A receptors play a central role in the development of epilepsy and developmental disorders, with nine out of 19 GABA A receptor genes already associated with genetic diseases. Now, as part of an international study led by Martin Krenn from MedUni Vienna's Department of Neurology, GABRA4 has been identified as a new disease gene in four cases.
Paleontology - Life Sciences - 16.04.2024

Flowering plant-type leaf veins died out and re-evolved several times in the course of the Earth's history According to a research team led by palaeontologists from the University of Vienna, the net-like leaf veining typical for today's flowering plants developed much earlier than previously thought, but died out again several times.
Health - Life Sciences - 10.04.2024
Key interaction of molecules discovered to influence hormone release
In a study recently published in the scientific journal PNAS, a research team led by MedUni Vienna has presented results that show a new way for drug development for post-traumatic stress disorder, alongside other indications. Although around four per cent of the population suffer from this mental illness, only symptomatic therapies are currently available.
Life Sciences - Health - 05.04.2024
The membrane that surrounds the embryo in the earliest stage of development
A MedUni Vienna study team led by geneticist Markus Hengstschläger has used a stem cell model to model the earliest stages of embryonic development and to characterize the membrane that surrounds the embryo, conferring shape and stability. This membrane is responsible for the specification and organization of the embryo's cells and allows it to grow in a controlled manner.
Life Sciences - Chemistry - 05.04.2024

April 5, 2024 New research shows: key molecules within nerve cells persist throughout life Most human nerve cells last a lifetime without renewal. A trait echoed within the cells' components, some enduring as long as the organism itself. New research by Martin Hetzer, molecular biologist and president of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), and colleagues discovered RNA, a typical transient molecule, in the nerve cells of mice that remain stable for their entire lives.
Health - Life Sciences - 28.03.2024
Cell research: New lysosomal dipeptide transporter described
In a recently published research paper, led by Marko Roblek from MedUni Vienna's Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, the function of a specific protein (SLC MFSD1) as a dipeptide transporter has been described for the first time. Dysregulation of MFSD1 is associated with liver disease, lymphocyte formation disorders and tumor metastasis, making these proteins highly relevant clinically.
Life Sciences - 28.03.2024
Neuronal circuit for reduced feeding at high temperatures decoded
When temperatures rise, appetite decreases: this can be observed after a winter sauna visit as well as on a midsummer day outdoors. There is scientific evidence that feeding is reduced when we are acutely exposed to heat. However, the exact reasons for this were previously unknown. An international research team led by MedUni Vienna has now described for the first time the neuronal signalling pathway that reduces feeding upon heat exposure.
Health - Life Sciences - 27.03.2024
Energy requirements for T cell functionality decoded
A research team led by Loïc Dupré (Department of Dermatology, MedUni Vienna) has conducted experiments to identify a coordinated molecular axis that governs the functionality of T cells. The study reveals how the availability of cellular energy controls the remodelling of the actin cytoskeleton, a central cellular activity that determines the ability of T cells to migrate and establish dynamic contacts.
Life Sciences - 18.03.2024
Genetic basis for the evolution of hair discovered in the clawed frog
The development of hair was of central importance for the evolution of mammals and thus also of humans. However, the evolutionary origin of the genetic programme of hair was previously unknown. An international research team led by Leopold Eckhart from MedUni Vienna has now been able to show that important hair components and their genetic control have already evolved in amphibians.
Life Sciences - Health - 29.02.2024

Bionic reconstruction, in which functionless limbs are replaced by mechatronic limbs, can restore mobility and quality of life to accident patients. However, the high-resolution transmission of information from the brain to the machine remains a demanding challenge. An interdisciplinary research team led by Vlad Tereshenko and Oskar Aszmann from MedUni Vienna's Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery has now made further significant progress as part of a study.